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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

#1381: Mark C. Biedebach

Perhaps
he is a small fish in the grand scheme of things, but Mark C. Biedebach is
still worth mentioning. Biedebach is Professor Emeritus of Physiology at the
California State University, Long Beach, which superficially might make him sound
like a scientist. His actual research record is pretty slim, however (old
papers in Acupuncture & electro-therapeutics research just don’t impress us, though they did
apparently impress the people at the “Lost teachings of Atlantis” website).
Instead, Biedebach has apparently used his credentials to lend a sheen of legitimacy
to a range of denialist views, anti-science, religious fundamentalist causes, and
conspiracy theories.

For
instance, Biedebach is a signatory to the Discovery Institute’s pitiful petition A Scientific Dissent to Darwinism.
And at present Biedebach appears to be affiliated with Caroline Crocker’s denialist organization the American Institute for Technology and Science
Education, a cargo cult think tank devoted to religious fundamentalism,
creationism and global warming denialism. Biedebach’s own contributions to
creationism consist of trite, old, often-refuted ID talking points, and they –
as well as his endorsement of Stephen Meyer’s latest book – are evaluated here.

At
present, Biedebach appears to be writing a book titled Evolution is a
Weasel Word.

Diagnosis: No, Biedebach. The
weasel words here are “Professor
Emeritus of Physiology”. Biedebach is an apologetic for fundamentalist religion,
and his understanding of science is, despite his apparent credentials, sorely
deficient.